Soft Tissue Manipulator Assembly

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to an instrument for manipulating soft tissue during a soft tissue repair procedure. The instrument includes a handle and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft including a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion of the shaft comprises a tip including at least two prongs and a channel located between the prongs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 61/161,124, filed Mar. 18, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Technology

The present disclosure relates to a device for manipulating soft tissue during a soft tissue repair procedure.

2. Related Art

During repair of soft tissue, such as biceps tenodesis repair, the biceps tendon is placed and temporarily secured in a prepared hole in the humerus prior to final fixation of the tendon via a fixation device, such as an interference screw. Devices that would accomplish this temporary placement and fixation are needed.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to an instrument for manipulating soft tissue during a soft tissue repair procedure. The instrument includes a handle; and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft including a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion of the shaft comprises a tip including at least two prongs and a channel located between the prongs. In an embodiment, the instrument is cannulated. In another embodiment, the distal portion includes marks, the marks representing a measured distance from an end of at least one of the prongs to the marks. In yet another embodiment, an outer diameter of the tip is between about 4.5 mm to about 5.5 mm.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method of tissue repair. The method includes creating a hole in bone; placing the soft tissue over the hole; providing a cannulated instrument for inserting the soft tissue into the hole, the instrument including a handle and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft including a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion includes a tip including at least two prongs and a channel located between the prongs; inserting the soft tissue into the hole via use of the instrument, wherein the soft tissue is housed within the channel; and inserting a fixation device into the hole to fixate the soft tissue to the bone. In an embodiment, the method further includes inserting a guide assembly through the cannulation of the instrument and into the bone prior to inserting the fixation device into the hole, the guide assembly comprising a guide wire and a vice coupled to the guide wire, the guide assembly inserted through the cannulation until a bottom portion of the vice engages with the handle. In yet another embodiment, the method further includes inserting the fixation device into the hole via use of the guide wire.

In a further aspect, the present disclosure relates to a soft tissue manipulator assembly. The manipulator assembly includes a soft tissue manipulator instrument having a handle, a shaft coupled to the handle, a tip coupled to the shaft, and a cannulation extending an entire length of the instrument; and a guide assembly disposed within the cannulation, the assembly comprising a guide wire and a vice coupled to the guide wire, the vice including a bottom portion and a top portion, the bottom portion in engagement with the handle.

In yet a further aspect, the present disclosure relates to a kit. The kit includes a soft tissue manipulator instrument including a handle, a shaft coupled to the handle, and a tip coupled to the shaft; a guide wire; a vice including a top portion and a bottom portion, the bottom portion having a channel and a hole extending perpendicular to the channel; and a fixation device. In an embodiment, the kit further includes a drill bit; a reamer; and a driver.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the disclosure, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure and together with the written description serve to explain the principles, characteristics, and features of the disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the soft tissue manipulator instrument of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1A shows an expanded view of the distal portion of the shaft of the instrument of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the instrument of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A-3C each show isometric views of the tip of the instrument of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A shows a side view of the guide assembly of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view of the guide assembly of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5A shows a side view of the soft tissue manipulator assembly of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the soft tissue manipulator assembly of FIG. 5A.

FIGS. 6-6A show the soft tissue manipulator instrument of FIG. 1 and a drill bit disposed within the instrument prior to creation of a hole in bone.

FIGS. 7-7A show the use of a reamer to increase the diameter of the hole created by the drill bit of FIGS. 6-6A.

FIG. 8 shows the insertion of the soft tissue manipulator assembly of FIG. 5A in bone.

FIG. 8A shows a representation of area 100 of FIG. 8 with soft tissue (not shown in FIG. 8) having been inserted into the bone via the soft tissue manipulator assembly of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 9 shows disposal of the guide wire of the guide assembly of FIG. 4A within bone.

FIG. 9A shows a representation of area 200 of FIG. 9 with soft tissue (not shown in FIG. 9).

FIG. 10 shows insertion of a fixation device into bone via use of a driver.

FIG. 10A shows a representation of area 300 of FIG. 10 with soft tissue (not shown in FIG. 10).

FIG. 11 shows disposal of the guide wire of the guide assembly of FIG. 4A and the fixation device of FIGS. 10-10A within bone.

FIG. 11A shows a representation of area 400 of FIG. 11 with soft tissue (not shown in FIG. 11).

FIG. 12 shows disposal of the fixation device of FIGS. 10-10A within bone.

FIG. 12A shows a representation of area 500 of FIG. 12 with soft tissue (not shown in FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the soft tissue manipulator instrument 10 of the present disclosure. The instrument 10 includes a handle 11 and a shaft 12 coupled to the handle 11. The instrument 10 includes a cannulation 14 that extends the entire length of the instrument 10. The shaft 12 includes a proximal portion 12 a coupled to the handle 11 and a distal portion 12 b. The distal portion 12 b includes a tip 13 having prongs 13 a and a channel 13 b located between the prongs 13 b. FIGS. 3A-3C show three tips 13, all of which have a different outer width W. For the purposes of this disclosure, the widths W of the tips 13 are 4.5 mm, 5.0 mm, and 5.5 mm. However, other widths W may be used. As will be described further below, the choice of which instrument 10 to use will depend on the diameter of the soft tissue that is being repaired. In addition, FIG. 1A shows markings 12 b′, and numbers correlating with those markings, located at the distal portion 12 b of the shaft 12. As will be further described below, the markings 12 b′ are used to determine the depth of a bone hole during repair.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show the guide assembly 20 of the present disclosure. The assembly 20 includes a guide wire 21 having a proximal portion 21 a and a distal portion 21 b. Coupled to the proximal portion 21 a of the guide wire 21 is a wire vice 22. The vice 22 includes a top portion 22 a, a bottom portion 22 b, a channel 22 c that houses the proximal portion 21 a of the guide wire 21, a hole 22 d extending perpendicular to the channel 22 c and having threads on an inner surface 22 d′ of the hole 22 d, and a knob assembly 22 e housed within the hole 22 d. The assembly 22 e includes a knob 22 f and a pin 22 g coupled to the knob 22 f. The pin 22 g includes a proximal portion 22 g′ coupled to the knob 22 f and a distal portion 22 g″ having threads that are engaged with the threads on the inner surface 22 d′ of the hole 22 d. Prior to use of the guide assembly 20 during repair, the proximal portion 21 a of the guide wire 21 is disposed within the channel 22 c of the vice 22 and the knob 22 f of the knob assembly 22 e is rotated until the distal portion 22 g″ of the pin 22 g abuts the proximal portion 21 a of the guide wire 21, thereby coupling the assembly 22 e to the proximal portion 21 a of the guide wire 21.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the soft tissue manipulator assembly 30 of the present disclosure. As will be further described below, the assembly 30 is used to insert tissue into bone.

FIGS. 6-12 show a method of soft tissue repair. FIGS. 6 and 6A show the soft tissue instrument 10 and a drill bit 40 disposed within the cannulation 14 of the instrument 10. The drill bit 40 includes a proximal portion 41 and a distal portion 42 having threads 43. The instrument 10 is used as a guide for placement of the drill bit 40 into bone 50. Once the drill bit 40 is disposed in the instrument 10, as shown in FIG. 6, a drill (not shown) is coupled to the proximal portion 41 of the bit 40 and is operated to rotate the bit 40 and advance the bit 40 into the bone 50. For the purposes of this disclosure, the drill bit 40 is 2.4 mm in diameter, but other diameter drill bits may be used. Once the bit 40 is advanced into the bone 50, the instrument 10 is removed while the drill bit 40 is maintained in bone 50.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 7A, a cannulated reamer 60 is disposed over the drill bit 40 and is used to provide the create a hole 51 in the bone 50. The reamer 60 includes a distal portion 61 having threads 61 a and a proximal portion 62. Once the reamer 60 is disposed over the drill bit 40, a drill (not shown) is then coupled to the proximal portion 62 and operated to rotate the reamer 60 and advance the reamer 60 into the bone 50, thereby creating the hole 51. For the purposes of this disclosure, the diameter of the reamer 60 is 6-8 mm, however the diameter is dependent on the diameter of the soft tissue that is placed within the hole 50, as will be further described below. Therefore, other diameter reamers may be used. In addition, the distal portion 61 of the reamer 60 may include number markings, similar to the markings 12 b′ described above, for measuring the depth of the reamer 60 as it is being advanced into the bone 50.

Once the reamer 60 and the drill bit 40 have been removed from the bone 50, the soft tissue manipulator instrument 10 is used to manipulate the soft tissue 70 and place the soft tissue 70 within the channel 13 b. The shaft 12 of the instrument 10 and the soft tissue 70 are then placed within the hole 51 and the guide assembly 20 is placed within the cannulation 14 of the instrument 10 until the bottom portion 22 b of the vice 22 abuts the handle 11 of the instrument 10, as shown in FIG. 8. At the same time, the distal portion 21 b of the wire 21 is inserted through the soft tissue 70 and subsequently disposed within the bone 50 lying beneath the hole 51, as shown in FIG. 8A. The distal portion 21 b of the wire 21 is inserted into the bone 50 by tapping the top portion 22 a of the vice 22 with a mallet, or another striking force, until the bottom portion 22 b abuts the handle 11. The vice 22 acts as a depth stop in limiting the depth of the distal portion 21 b of the wire 21 into the bone 50. Other factors that limit the depth of the distal portion 21 b into the bone 50 include, without limitation, the length of the wire 21, the length of the instrument 10, and the depth of the channel 22 a.

FIGS. 9 and 9A show that the vice 22 has been removed from the proximal portion 21 a of the wire 21 by disengaging the pin 22 g from the wire 21 and uncoupling the vice 22 from the proximal portion 21 a. The instrument 10 has also been removed from the hole 51, thereby leaving the wire 21 alone in the hole 51.

The wire 21 is subsequently used to guide the insertion of a fixation device 80, such as an interference screw, into the hole 51, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 10A. A driver assembly 90, which includes a cannulated driver 91 having a handle 91 a and a shaft 91 b coupled to the handle 91 a and the cannulated fixation device 80 coupled to the shaft 91 b, is disposed over the wire 21. The driver 91 is rotated to insert the device 80 into the hole 51, such that the threaded outer surface 81 of the device 80 is engaged with the soft tissue 70, thereby fixating the soft tissue 70 to the bone 50. After insertion of the device 80 into the hole 51, the driver 91 and the wire 21 are both removed from the bone 50, thereby leaving the device 80 within the hole, as shown in FIGS. 11-11A and 12-12A. The wire 21 is removed by placing the proximal portion 21 a into the channel 22 c of the vice 22, rotating the knob 22 f to couple the assembly 22 e to the wire 21, and then using the assembly 22 e to remove the wire 21 from the hole 50. Other methods of removing the wire 21 are also within the scope of this disclosure.

The soft tissue manipulator instrument 10 and drill bit 40 are made from a biocompatible material, such as titanium, stainless steel, or other biocompatible material and via a machining process or other process known to one of skill in the art. A combination of processes may also be used to make the instrument 10 and drill bit 40. The cannulation 14 and channel 13 b are formed during or after the machining process via a method, such as drilling. The markings 12 b′ and associated numbers are formed by a laser or another method and the threads 43 are formed via a machining process.

The guide assembly 20 and its components and the reamer 60 are also made from a biocompatible material, such as titanium, stainless steel, or other biocompatible material and via a machining process or other process known to one of skill in the art. A combination of processes may also be used to make the assembly 20 and reamer 60. The channel 22 c, hole 22 d, cannulation, and threads on the inner surface 22 d′ of the hole 22 d, the distal portion 22 g″ of the pin 22 g, and the reamer 60 are formed during or after the machining process via a process, such as drilling or other process known to one of skill in the art.

The fixation device 80 is made from a resorbable polymer material. However, a metal material and other non-metal materials, either resorbable or non-resorbable, are also within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, the device 80 may be made via a molding process or other process known to one of skill in the art. The cannulation and threads on the outer surface 81 of the device 80 may be formed during the molding process or after the molding process by drilling or machining.

As various modifications could be made to the exemplary embodiments, as described above with reference to the corresponding illustrations, without departing from the scope of the disclosure, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents. 

1. An instrument for manipulating soft tissue during a soft tissue repair procedure comprising: a handle; and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion of the shaft comprises a tip including at least two prongs and a channel located between the prongs.
 2. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the instrument is cannulated.
 3. The instrument of claim 1 wherein the distal portion includes marks, the marks representing a measured distance from an end of at least one of the prongs to the marks.
 4. A method of tissue repair comprising: creating a hole in bone; placing the soft tissue over the hole; providing a cannulated instrument for inserting the soft tissue into the hole, the instrument comprising a handle and a shaft coupled to the handle, the shaft comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the distal portion comprises a tip including at least two prongs and a channel located between the prongs; inserting the soft tissue into the hole via use of the instrument, wherein the soft tissue is housed within the channel; and inserting a fixation device into the hole to fixate the soft tissue to the bone.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising inserting a guide assembly through the cannulation of the instrument and into the bone prior to inserting the fixation device into the hole, the guide assembly comprising a guide wire and a vice coupled to the guide wire, the guide assembly inserted through the cannulation until a bottom portion of the vice engages with the handle.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the method further comprises inserting the fixation device into the hole via use of the guide wire.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein an outer diameter of the tip is between about 4.5 mm to about 5.5 mm.
 8. A soft tissue manipulator assembly comprising: a soft tissue manipulator instrument comprising a handle, a shaft coupled to the handle, a tip coupled to the shaft, and a cannulation extending an entire length of the instrument; and a guide assembly disposed within the cannulation, the assembly comprising a guide wire and a vice coupled to the guide wire, the vice including a bottom portion and a top portion, the bottom portion in engagement with the handle.
 9. A kit comprising: a soft tissue manipulator instrument comprising a handle, a shaft coupled to the handle, and a tip coupled to the shaft; a guide wire; a vice comprising a top portion and a bottom portion, the bottom portion comprising a channel and a hole extending perpendicular to the channel; and a fixation device.
 10. The kit of claim 9 further comprising: a drill bit; a reamer; and a driver. 